Cloth-laying machine



\ J. W. GALE CLOTH LAYING MACHINE AfTORNEvs N vcmoa 3 Sheets -Sheet 1 Filed June 1923 J. W. GALE CLOTH LAYING MACHINE s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTJQR JW GALE.

Filed June 1923 Patented Feb. 3, 1925.

UNITD. STATES IFFICE.

JAMES WILLIAM GALE, F TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

CLOTH-LAYING MACHINE.

Application filed June as, 1923. Serial No. 648,344.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES WILLIAM GALE,

a subject of the King of Great Britain, and

a resident of the city of Toronto, in the county of York, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cloth-Laying Machines, of which the following is the specification.

My invention relates to cloth laying machines and the object of the invention is to devise a simple device whereby cloth may be laid evenly and smoothly upon a cutting table and folded cross-wise to form a plurality of plies, and it consists essentially of the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter more particularly explained.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my device.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view on line 3-3,

Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of a cutting table, cloth laid thereon, and holding bars holding the cloth to the table.

Fig. '5 is a perspective detail of my cloth roller support.

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail of the turnable support for the core-rod of the roll.

Fig. 7 is a perspective detail of a'fiat roll showing the core support therefor mostly in dotted lines.

Figs. 8 and 9 are sectional views illustrating the method of folding the cloth.

Fig. 10 is a detail view of a journal pin and its lock for the guide 28.

In the drawings like characters indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

' 1 indicates a cutting table of the usual type provided with supports 2. 7 l

3 are side rails forming track ways extending longitudinally of the cutting table and supported by hanger portions 4. l

5 is the body of my cloth layer comprising side bars 6 and 7 carrying a central horizontal table portion 8 and upwardly inclined side rails 9 and 10, the portion 9 carrying the cloth roll support hereinafter described.

11 are cross bars provided at each end with depending portions 12 connected together by a tie bar 13.

14 are studs extending inward from the lower end of each depending portion 12 on which are mounted grooved rollers 15 adapted to travel upon the trackways 3.

16 are standards secured to the side bars 7 and to the tie bars 13. The standard-bars 16 extend upward above the table and carry horizontal bar members 17. p

18 are standard bars extending vertically from the horizontal bar members 17 at one end and carrying a round cross rod 19.

20 is a roller carried between the opposite ends of the horizontal bar members 17.

21 is a cross rod extending between the bar-members 17 at the same side of the standard as the roller 20 but spaced'apart from such roller. I

22 are bars hingedly mounted at 23 upon the horizontal bar members 17. The bars 22 are provided with brackets 23 and 24. Between the brackets 23 extends a rod 25 and between the brackets 24 extends a rod 26. The rods 25 and 26 are located at each side of the rod 21 but spaced apart therefrom, the rod 26 being located intermediately between the rod 21 and the roller 20. The rods 25 and 26 are also located at a slightly lower level than the rod 21.

27 are bracketscarried by the table portion 9. 28 is a guide member'pivota-lly mounted between the brackets 27. The guide member 28 comprises end plates 29 andBO between which extend front and rear walls 31 and 32 which converge downward to form a slotted opening The end plate 29 is provided with a vertical series of" orifices 34 and the bracket 27 carrying the same is provided with a pin 35 extending into one of said orifices 34.

The bracket 27 at the opposite end of the guide member28 is provided with an orifice 36. The end plate member 30 is provided with a series of orifices 37 similarto the orifices 34.

38 is a. pin provided with an annular groove 39*. The pin'38 extends through the orifice 36 into one of the orifices 37 ofthe end plate 30. 39 is a pivotedlatch whichis swung down to enter the groove 39 and thereby prevent the withdrawal of the pin 38.

' I will now describe the means by which the cloth roll is supported.

40 is a cross strip provided with undercut portions 41 and 42.

43 is a slide piece provided with dependgrooves 41 slidably fit. The portion a8 is provided with reduced end portions ift; also provided with under-cut grooves 47 and 18.

49 is a slide piece provided with inwardly extending portions 50 engaging the under cut grooves 47 and -l8.

51 is a standard forming an inte ral part of the slide piece 49 and provided withan open-ended vertical notch 52.

53 and 54 are circular plates provided with out-turned edges 55 and central orifices 56 through which a bolt 57 extends.

The belt 57 provided with an enlarged portion 58 forming a shoulder against which the circular plate 54 bears.

59 is a spacing sleeve mounted upon the bolt 57 and extending between the plates 53 and 60is a securing nut secured Onto the outer end of the bolt 57 "61 is asleeve mounted on the outer end of the stud bolt 57 and provided with ball'bearings 6 2.

63 is a stationary standard mounted at the opposite end of the slide piece e8. The standard '63 is similar in construction. and carries a bearing sleeve 61. The sleeve 61 receives the ends of the core rod X of the roll of cloth X and being mounted upon ball bearings-revolves easily and permits the clothto freely unwind from the roll.

' I64 and 65 are cross bars extending crosswise of the cutting table and provided at one end. with a hooked portion 66 engaging one edge of the table and at the opposite end with a hook portion 67 provided with a clamping. screw 68 adapted to. be screwed against the, opposite edge of the table rigidly sedujring'uie barin place. tjfi lfand 7 0 are pins extending from the cross bar. 64:. 7

i and; 72*are similar pins extending from the cross bar65.

T3 is a pair of movable bars each provided at one, end with a notch 74. The inner edge of the bar 73 is preferably inclined so that its opposite ends lit against the outer side of the pin 64:30 that the outer edge of the bar 78 is at right angles to the table edges 743 is a pair of movable bars similar to the bars '13 carried by the otlgi er bar 65, the outer edge of the bar 74* be ng also at right angles to the table edges.

and 76 are tension springs secured at the opposite sides of the guiding member 28 and at the opposite. ends thereof. The. tension springs are secured at their opposite ends to-brackets 77 and the tension spring 76 to one end of the cross bars 11. The cloth when themachinev is setup is drawn from a roll X over the bar 19 and beneath the bar. 25; then overthehar 21 and: beneath the bar 26; and then over the rol1er20kirom whence it extends downward between the walls 81 and 32 so as to pass through the open mouth 33 in close proximity to the cutting table. The cloth is then drawn horizontally, longitudinally of the table over the fixed bar 64; and between the movable bars 73, the machine is then pushed in the direction of arrow (see Fig. 1') carrying the cloth over the fixed bar 65 and between the movable bars 74* forming the first ply A;

the machine is then pushed back past bar 64 forming the second ply B and the lower bar of the pair out bars 78 is removed and replaced on top of ply .B and the machine pushed again in the direction of the arrow iorin'ng the third ply G, completing the op eration and repeating until the required number of plies has been formed.

In order to obviate an error in counting the plies which make up a bundle, a sheet of paper is laid between each pile of plies mallinglup each bundle so that thesepiles may be readily separated without liability to error when making the goods into bundles. u-ithout counting the plies thereof in order that the cloth may be properly aligned upon the table I have provided the following gauge device. This gauge consists of a bar 80* secured to the table 8 adjacent one edge thereof and parallel with the edge of the cutting table 1. 81 is a hinged bar connect-ed to one end of the bar 80 adapted to be swung up and against the end of the cloth roll X the edge ot the cloth being first set against the inner face of the bar 80*. By this meansthc cloth roll will be held in proper position so that the cloth when drawn over the cutting table will always be properly aligned.

It will be understood that some. qualities of cloth may be laid better with less tension than other cloth and for this purpose I have provided the hinged bars 22 to carry the rods 25 and 26. When such tension is not requiredthe bars .22 are swung up so as to carry the rods25i and 261 free of the cloth. The bars 22 may be swung in to a horizontal position opposite to that shown in the drawing.

It will be understood that by myiu'achine cloth may be laid in folds from a round roll, from a flat board or from cloth in Flat folds.

In Fig. -2 I have indicated by dotted lines cloth laid in a flat "fold froinwhich it fed instead off the roll X Such cloth is laid. on the platform 8 from which the cloth passes over round cross rod 19 and from thence to the cutting table over and through by the same course that the cloth passes from a round roll of cloth X 80 are supporting bars secured to the main structure of the machine. 79 are hearing supports carried by the bars- 80- in which is mounted a rod- 78 in suitable bearing notches, and upon; which is held a paper roll 77 so that the paper may be drawn oil and laid between any pair of cloth plies desired, the laid in portion being then torn off from the body of the roll.

From this description it will be seen that I have devised a very simple form of cloth laying machine whereby cloth may be laid quickly and evenly to form a plurality of plies upon the cutting table and in such a way that each ply will be laid smoothly without crease or without unevenness due to air being trapped beneath any one ply as it is laid.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a cloth laying machine, acutting table, a carriage adapted to reciprocate longitudinally of the table, means for sup porting the cloth upon the carriage to be fed outward therefrom and folded by the reciprocation of the carriage, means secured to the table for engaging the cloth at each end of each fold, tension means adjacent the cutting table surface and comprising a pair of parallel resiliently yielda-ble straight edge members between which the cloth passes in a downward direction to contact alternately therewith as the carriage moves in one direction or the other, and means for adjusting the tension means vertically.

2. In a cloth laying machine, a cutting table, a carriage adapted to reciprocate lon gitudinally of the cutting table, means for supporting the cloth upon the carriage to be fed outwardly therefrom, and folded by the reciprocation of the carriage, means secured to the table for engaging the cloth at each end of each fold, and tension means comprising an open bottomed trough-like member adjacent the table surface, through which the cloth passes downward to the table surface, means for pivotally mount-i ing each end of the trough on the carriage, and resilient means for holding the lower portion of the trough against the tension of the cloth as the carriage passes in one direction or the other to form the cloth folds.

3. In a cloth laying machine, the combination with a cutting table and carriage travelling longitudinally of the cutting table of a cloth support carried by the carriage and a cloth tension device also carried by the carriage and comprising a pair of spaced apart cross rods over which the free end of the cloth is drawn from the cloth support as it passes to the surface of the cutting table, an arm hingedly mounted at one end upon the carriage at each end of the stationary rods, and a pair of spaced apart rods carried by the hinged arms adapted when the arm is in the horizontal position to bear upon the top of the cloth in spaced relation to the stationary rods.

- 4. In a cloth laying machine, the combination with a carriage provided with a cloth supporting table and aroll support, of a guide strip secured to the table against which one edge of the cloth bears when laid in folded form thereon, and a hinged bar L secured to one end of the strip and adapted to rest upon the roll support at one end of the roll to gauge the crosswise position of the roll.

JAMES WILLIAM GALE, 

